A control lever of the above mentioned type is known from WO 91/02912, which lever has been used as a gear change lever in combination with an electrically operated clutch. The arrangement has adequately fulfilled the requirements for sensitivity and precision which have to be met in order to achieve good operation. The arrangement makes it noticeably simpler to drive a car with a manual gearbox since the clutch does not have to be operated by foot, but instead is directly integrated with the gear change lever.
It has however shown itself to be difficult to produce a control lever which fulfils the demands for feel and precision with normal gearchanging forces of 20-30N and at the same time meet the durability requirements for a maximum load of 1000N without deformation damage to the electrical contacts. A designer for this type of control must additionally take account of the ergonomic requirement and demand for good design.